Sad news. I've always loved his classic hits but because of the sheer variety and volume of his music over the decades, I was still discovering obscure but new-to-me songs of his even up to the last few years. I was always curious to see what he was going to come up with next. Sadly we'll never get to be surprised by him again.

Here's one of my favorite classic Bowie songs:

As Ace has noted one of the nice things about Bowie was that he never become preachy or a celebrity scold and always seemed to have a certain lack of super-star ego to him. In particular he didn't seem to mind people making fun of him or even playing caricatures of himself in other people's works. Here are some clips of him from Zoolander and Ricky Gervais' Extras (thanks to Sonny Bunch):

I find this extremely puzzling. We have seen this movie before, and we know how it ends. The Democrats have died on the gun control hill a couple of times already. I understand demagoguing an issue, but don't politicians generally try to demagogue issues that are popular?

...I can think of only two explanations for the Democrats' gun obsession. The first is that they perceive a danger of losing their base, and therefore are pushing an issue that their base believes in, even though it alienates most voters in the middle. If that's right, it is a sign of desperation. The second is that their agenda is so exhausted that they literally can't think of anything better to talk about. I think that might be it: what are Obama and Clinton going to give speeches about to fire up the troops, Obamacare? Immigration? The Iran deal? Unpopular as it is, gun control may be as good as they've got.

Nate Hale thinks not based on its blast signature and the fact that its estimated yield was less than half of the US Hiroshima bomb. What is disturbing though is the pace that the Norks are improving their technology and the fact that their test caught the US off guard.

The North Koreans may know a lot about the outside world, but they don't know everything, even about the United States, their main adversary. In one meeting, an official asked, "Why do the president and secretary of state keep saying that the United States will not allow North Korea to have nuclear weapons when in fact you are not doing much to stop us?" He deduced that there must be a hidden agenda. "It's because you want us to have nuclear weapons as an excuse to tighten your grip on South Korea and Japan, your two allies." We responded that there was no hidden agenda and that the United States really did not want the North to have those weapons. I'm not sure we convinced him.

There were 38 reports of rape and sexual assault filed after the We Are Sthlm festival, which uses the postal abbreviation for Stockholm, in 2014 and 2015, according to police.

...Police would not say how many men had been linked to the alleged assaults, but DN reported that as many as 50 Afghan refugees who had come to Sweden without their parents were suspected to be involved.

Officers had, however, avoided informing the public that they had made this connection, DN said.

The epitaph on David Phillip Vetter's gravestone observes correctly that "he never touched the world." How could he have? From a few seconds after his birth until two weeks before his death at age 12, David lived life entirely in one plastic bubble or another. Touching the world would have killed him in fairly short order. Even his two weeks outside a plastic cocoon were spent in a hospital trying, futilely, to stave off the inevitable.

...But over time, his life came to be fraught with ethical dilemmas. For instance, what if a mature David at some point demanded freedom from his hermetic environment, regardless of the risk? A psychologist who worked with him has recounted how the boy, always cheerful in televised images, sometimes raged off-camera at the terrible hand fate had dealt him.

In October 1983, his doctors tried a new bone marrow technique, one that did not require a perfect blood match. As had originally been planned, Katherine Vetter was the donor. At first, the procedure seemed to work. But dormant and undetected in Katherine's marrow was a virus, Epstein-Barr. It proved to be a killer, the trigger of cancerous tumors that overwhelmed David's body.

At long last, he was taken out of the bubble and treated in a sterile hospital room. For the first time in his life, he was able to receive that most primal of human contacts: a mother's kiss. But the end was at hand. On Feb. 22, 1984, two weeks after leaving the bubble - with a wink to his doctor, William T. Shearer, as a final gesture - David died.

I've always had a certain fondness for SNOBOL since the very first online forum/BBS program I was ever exposed to - circa 1980-81 - was written in SNOBOL and running on a local university Dec-10. And because the source code for it was available students and users could easily make tweaks and add extra features.

13
The "Bubble Boy" entered the popular culture. When Mikey's older brother in "The Goonies" said of his asthmatic little brother "put him in a plastic bubble, ma" everyone knew what he was talking about.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at January 11, 2016 10:27 PM (6FqZa)

14
Don't really have a dog in the fight (Nat'l Championship game), but for some strange reason Dabo irritates me.

17
Yeah... Bowie. Pretty influential. Always considered Hunky Dory to be his best work. That's not a slight on his other stuff. Everything from Ziggy Stardust through to Heroes is all killer stuff. He came to a gig back in the day and was a nice guy and the non egotist Maet observed. Pretty laid back dude..

My observation for the day is that I've been surprised to see how pretty some of the women are here. I'm not sure what I expected. I certainly was expecting a country full of black Hillarys but I've seen a lot attractive women.

A young women who has worked as an interpreter for our group could be described as stunning, with a flawless complexion and smile and much grace and style. If she was taller she could be a model.

26
otho: like Iggy Pop, "The Idiot". The version of "China Girl" on that... omg

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at January 11, 2016 10:34 PM (6FqZa)

27
For my money, Bowie was the most important musical artist of the 20th century. He had the ability to foresee trends and commercialize them, without cheapening their impact. I kind of think he had said all he was going to say before he died...but I'm sad that he won't be able to prove me wrong.

People pointing and saying "Here's where David Bowie is going" were always wrong. And it was great how he proved them wrong, because it was a window we didn't even notice was open.

There's always something in his music for everyone, even your grandma or your great-grandson.

As I mentioned earlier, went and saw The Big Short this afternoon. I should do a review. I thought it a good HQ movie, full of people with complete disdain for what has gone on/is going on in this country.

Somebody's son here thought it was awful, but I thought it was great. Held to the book well with one notable exception.

38
I was just talking with some coworkers about David Bowie a few days ago, since it was his birthday. It feels weird to realize that we were all talking about him in the present tense for the last time.

RIP, Dave; I presume Davey Jones's Locker will be kind to you, since you yourself were born a Davey Jones.

Posted by: Cato the Rebel Without a Party at January 11, 2016 10:48 PM (HalrA)

72
"I can think of only two explanations for the Democrats' gun obsession..."

Well, you didn't think hard enough. The Left understands, with good reason, that if they push something long enough and hard enough, they win. They really believe they can win on this, that is, establish a national registry and confiscate guns. Whether this is politically deranged or not doesn't matter. They WANT it and BELIEVE they can achieve it.

Posted by: rrpjr at January 11, 2016 10:48 PM (s/yC1)

73
Looking at the China debt article, there was a link to an article about a gold plated Mao statue.

Reminded me of the Pointy Haired Boss from Dilbert.

Posted by: ReactionaryMonster at January 11, 2016 10:48 PM (0NdlF)

74
It's odd to me how people of the same age range can have such wildly different musical influences. I never was into Bowie. Ever. My best friend growing up practically had a shrine to him and frequently would tell me how awesome and deep and awesome Bowie was, etc. RIP. Sorry to those that loved him. I'll be in my room... but let me know if Herb Albert dies, ok? heh

77
I was never a huge Bowie fan, but it's amazing that people are acknowledging his influence so widely.

What age groups appreciate Bowie?

1-20

21-40

41-60

1

61-80

Posted by: Farmer at January 11, 2016 10:42 PM

Well, me neither (not that admitted that, I lied coz I was in awe), but the dude was massively influential. I can't say about the age groups thing... but, what I can say for sure is that Bowie was a musician's musician. Influenced everybody in pop/rock, whether you were a huge fan, or just a regular "I like his stuff" fan.

91
I really like 'Starman' as well as 'Moonage Daydream', both have a great combo of acoustic & electric guitar sounds. There was a great, sort of dissonant sound to Ronson's guitar that became synonymous with "glam rock". I love that sound.

Heroes is great, Bowie's vocals are amazing on that track. Panic in Detroit is another good one.

96
I said before, but I will repeat, my first album I ever bought was Ziggy Stardust, and my favorite Bowie songs (that I can remember right now) areQueen BitchSuffragette CityThe Man who Sold the WorldAshes to AshesLife on Mars

104
The reason the Left is going for the guns now is because the public is finally starting to wake up and turn on them. If they don't take up the guns and seize power now, their utopian schemes which they've spent so long constructing will slip through their fingers. They know it's now or never, so they're trying to force the issue and hoping they still have enough momentum to carry them through.

Posted by: Cato the Rebel Without a Party at January 11, 2016 10:55 PM (HalrA)

105
#93: Space Oddity. Major Tom was an entirely different song by Peter Schilling of Austria.

My observation for the day is that I've been surprised to see how pretty some of the women are here. I'm not sure what I expected. I certainly was expecting a country full of black Hillarys but I've seen a lot attractive women.

A young women who has worked as an interpreter for our group could be described as stunning, with a flawless complexion and smile and much grace and style. If she was taller she could be a model.
Posted by: Northernlurker, muzungo at January 11, 2016 10:32 PM (3Erz4)

Milady and I both thought we'd seen it before, decades ago, but none of it was familiar. Then again, that would've been in the '70s. Lots of brain cells under the bridge since then.

Paused to make some dinner and saw that we had seen about 30 minutes of ... a 47-hour file. ?!? I think Media Player Classic may have trouble calculating M4V file length.

MWFtE was a little intense, and looked like it was about to start turning bad for Bowie, so we watched some YouTubes, including Bowie's Lazarus video. Yeah, I want to go out still creative on my deathbed... but I'd like to make it older than 69, seven years from now. As we say, F cancer.

Then, we ended up watching the last half of Day the Earth Stood Still we'd started last night It was as stupid as the first half. Funny how I never noticed that so much before.

122
93: Space Oddity. Major Tom was an entirely different song by Peter Schilling of Austria.

Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler

"This is Major Tom to ground control" was Space oddity?

Posted by: AmeriDan at January 11, 2016 11:00 PM (cq3QL)

123
Start with the attack goose. My mother came from a large family and one of her sisters had a flock of geese one year when I was still in grade school. That flock of geese were more vicious than a pack of wild dogs. They terrorized me, and they were almost as big as I was.

If you have never been bitten by a full grown goose, you have no idea. They will leave a mark on you and they don't quit.

131
If a Republican becomes president he needs to hire R Lee Ermy to clean out all of the PC assholes who infest the top brass.

someone should Tweet that to Trump

Posted by: jake at January 11, 2016 11:00 PM (HLUeE)

132
never really got Bowie. Didn't mind his stuff, just never went over the top for it. I will admit, he stayed out of the celebrity bullshit arena and, I respect him for that. He let his talent do the talking. Good for him. May he RIP.

Posted by: Grump928(C) pollutes you thread with football at January 11, 2016 11:08 PM (rwI+c)

161The White House has announced the official list of honored guests that will be present to watch as President Obama delivers the last State of the Union address of his presidency on Tuesday. Among those seated in the box with Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and Valerie Jarrett, will be an adorable three-legged puppy named Blanket, who will be sleeping on the First Lady's lap....

>>My observation for the day is that I've been surprised to >>see how pretty some of the women are here.

This comment is worthless without elbows.

Posted by: JEM at January 11, 2016 11:09 PM (o+SC1)

166
72 The Left understands, with good reason, that if they push something long enough and hard enough, they win. They really believe they can win on this...They WANT it and BELIEVE they can achieve it."
Posted by: rrpjr at January 11, 2016 10:48 PM (s/yC1)
-------------
BINGO.
As you say, they'll push and push and push at every opportunity and from all angles.

Obama is using the bully pulpit and staging little dramas. Schools with "zero tolerance" are teaching kids that just saying "bang" is a mortal sin. The CDC declares "gun violence" a national health problem. The EPA frets about all of that lead poisoning the world.
And on and on and on and on.

This time of year when you look out any window on the first floor there is some goose standing on one leg pooping

Posted by: jake at January 11, 2016 11:09 PM (HLUeE)

171
161 The White House has announced the official list of honored guests that will be present to watch as President Obama delivers the last State of the Union address of his presidency on Tuesday. Among those seated in the box with Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and Valerie Jarrett, will be an adorable three-legged puppy named Blanket, who will be sleeping on the First Lady's lap....

http://bit.ly/1ZXDkhL

(People's Cube)
Posted by: mindful webworker - served on a bed of rice at January 11, 2016 11:08 PM (ACs5

172167 an adorable three-legged puppy named Blanket, who will be sleeping on the First Lady's lap....http://bit.ly/1ZXDkhL(People's Cube)Posted by: mindful webworker - served on a bed of rice at January 11, 2016 11:08 PM (ACs5Obama must have gotten the munchies...Posted by: The Tripodal Hat at January 11, 2016 11:09 PM (vBeA5)

176
I worked in FORTH for a few years. I am still fond of the language, but its time has passed.

You could get a whole FORTH development system (compiler, debugger, editor, everything you need) on a lame slow computer with 4K of memory and still have 2K left over to run your actual programs.

These days we have CPU chips with megabytes of cache, and we expect gigabytes of RAM, so it makes sense to use higher-level languages that do let a developer do more work in fewer lines of code. Even little embedded devices can be usefully programmed in C++ or whatever because you don't need to run the compiler on the device itself.

But I solved real problems and got real work done using FORTH, and I enjoyed it.

SNOBOL, on the other hand, I pretty much hate! Its flow control is based on GOTO. It has GOTO logic really baked in to the language. You'd be better off rewriting old SNOBOL programs into AWK, or better still something modern and powerful like Python.

About the only Bowie song I know. The lead singer of "Dead or Alive" re-did it a few years ago.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 11, 2016 10:49 PM (011nl)yeah that is the only one I know too, except I didn't even know it was David Bowie, I just knew it as "that one song that's overplayed a lot"

Posted by: chemjeff at January 11, 2016 11:13 PM (uZNvH)

184
#96: Suffragette City is another great one!
Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler... Trump/Camacho 2016! at January 11, 2016 10:57 PM

For the most part? They do. A lot of it is internal debt caused by corrupt local politicians buying votes... backed by the full faith and credit of the central government. It's going to be a mess when it breaks.

Posted by: Cato the Rebel Without a Party at January 11, 2016 11:14 PM (HalrA)

195
They will identify their targets, go after them and have some success. By this they hope to intimidate the rest into giving up.

.....
intimidating legal gun owners won't work.

you'll just turn them into illegal gun owners because in the USA if they take all the guns, the next step is people in camps

Posted by: jake at January 11, 2016 11:14 PM (HLUeE)

196
Come to think of it, have we ever SEEN both JeffB and DavidBowie in the same place, at the same time?

Posted by: BurtTC at January 11, 2016 11:13 PM (Dj0WE)

So JeffB is dead now too?

Been a rough week for the Horde.

Posted by: Blano at January 11, 2016 11:15 PM (C3E0x)

197
Sitting in a bar listening to a pretty good cover of Heroes. 1st time I can remembet anothet band covering it too.

Posted by: bill-o at January 11, 2016 11:15 PM (rysJw)

198
Bowie crowds were almost exactly like PFunk crowds. Without the rhythm.

My thing has usually been Tears For Fears. Although I've done some Iggy and Bowie before.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at January 11, 2016 11:16 PM (6FqZa)

204
192
As for the head scratcher, of liberals and gun control, I would have
said the same thing about liberals and socialized medicine, and
liberals and gay marriage.....

...And here we are.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 11, 2016 11:14 PM (Dj0WE)

They've been emboldened by their recent successes and think they can put the keystone that will hold their edifice of evil in place now. They also know it's now or never, because a lot of people have started to see what's taking shape and don't like it.

Posted by: Cato the Rebel Without a Party at January 11, 2016 11:16 PM (HalrA)

211For the most part? They do. A lot of it is
internal debt caused by corrupt local politicians buying votes... backed
by the full faith and credit of the central government. It's going to
be a mess when it breaks.

Posted by: Cato the Rebel Without a Party at January 11, 2016 11:14 PM (HalrA)Wait - are you talking about China, or us?

213
There was a local Philly band I followed back in the 90s, the Low Road. They played original music for the most part, but I was at their last show before they disbanded, and the last song they played was "Heroes".

I admit to tearing up a bit. You had to be there.

Posted by: rickl at January 11, 2016 11:19 PM (sdi6R)

214They will ransack the NRA offices, confiscate membership lists. It will be a starting point. Game onPosted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at January 11, 2016 11:17 PM (voOPb)

Then it's time to start buying memberships for your local prog city council and education board members, yes?

217
(passing thought for next December)
Stageflash mob Nativity scenes on public property.
(Forbringing out the "Apoplectic" in "ACLU".)
Notes: Be tasteful; Be memorable; Getting a "wink, wink" from local cops is a plus ;-)

They also poop twice their weight every single day. I fully expect the earth to collapse into a black hole one day due to the sheer mass of goose poop.

Posted by: Michael the Hobbit at January 11, 2016 11:21 PM (dPpmC)

223
#194: China holds, oh, probably about $2 trillion of our debt. At first glance, this seems to be a problem for us in the foreign policy department.

But, I would refer you to the modern maxim of, "If you owe the bank $100,000, the bank owns you. If you owe the bank $100,000,000, you own the bank."

China's economy is teetering on the brink of collapse even with our big debt to them. If we suddenly decide we might have trouble making good on that debt, well, China will have to make some concessions.

you'll just turn them into illegal gun owners because in the USA if they take all the guns, the next step is people in camps

....the city of Lost Angels recently banned all magazines over 10 rounds, even if they were legal under state law, as being grandfathered.

exactly zero were turned in, last news report i saw. LAPD is reduced to begging for turn-ins no questions asked, as if the cops wouldn't steal them as they came in.

similar situation with the mandatory assault weapons registration many moons ago: only a small fraction of the estimated total were signed up.

of course, it didn't help that certain SKS owners who were told their rifles were legal were later informed some months later that, "Ooops, you can't have those, and we know you do, so turn them in for free or move them out of state..."

F Moonbeam and all the other fascists in this Third World Shithole with (relatively) drinkable water.

Posted by: redc1c4 at January 11, 2016 11:23 PM (G1F7B)

232
what do you think will happen if the gov'ment is the only group to have guns, anthe the left is in power?

??

Posted by: jake at January 11, 2016 11:20 PM (HLUeE)

Same thing that always happens when a motivated zealot with a particular brand of morality (or anti-morality in their case, but I digress) gains power. Those who do not share their belief system will be persecuted.

Posted by: Cato the Rebel Without a Party at January 11, 2016 11:23 PM (HalrA)

233
I saw Edible Thong open up for the Butt-hole Surfers in the Salt Palace in '82

For the most part? They do. A lot of it is internal debt caused by corrupt local politicians buying votes... backed by the full faith and credit of the central government. It's going to be a mess when it breaks.
Posted by: Cato the Rebel Without a Party at January 11, 2016 11:14 PM (HalrA)

267
OPEC is trying to put Texas out of business by flooding the market.
---

Texas, or Iran. Saudis are driving down the price of crude to force Iran to sell at a loss.

Posted by: Chinwendu Whitecrest at January 11, 2016 11:30 PM (j6Mlw)

268
I'm an 80s kid, so Let's Dance, China Girl and Modern Love are my favorites (Let's Dance album came out in 1983). I discovered his earlier stuff after that, but those 3 songs stay with me the most.

I only saw him live once -- 1987 Glass Spider tour. I'm glad I did -- he didn't really tour much.

He was more a performance artist than merely a singer/songwriter, IMO and his life was the performance. A true genius -- watch the Lazarus video from his just released album Blackstar (he timed the release to coincide with this 69th birthday Jan. 8th) -- first line of the song is "Look up here, I'm in heaven." He even made his own death -- his last act on earth -- art.

There will never be another like him.

I'm surprised at how sad I feel about his passing -- it's like a part of my childhood died with him.

RIP Thin White Duke.

Posted by: Dancing Queen at January 11, 2016 11:31 PM (aNrvT)

269
Texas, or Iran. Saudis are driving down the price of crude to force Iran to sell at a loss.

That's the thing about his work -- he "Zigged" one way to set-up or popularize a scene, then zagged another way and let everyone else own that scene. He didn't create songs or albums so much as he created genres.

It's Monday night, 20 minutes or so to midnight on the east coast and most of the 4th quarter is yet to be played. Yes, I know ESPN has to get in a metric tonne of commercials. But you know what? The lawn I want you to get off of is the one I'm looking at in the morning after being thankful I got a decent night's sleep.

Move this game to a better night, and for Heaven's sake, the poor guys on the SEC Network who looked miserable taking calls from random people during the game looked miserable.

289I'm surprised at how sad I feel about his passing -- it's like a part of my childhood died with him.

I feel the same way. I'm an 80's kid myself, so that time period is where I first really paid attention to Bowie. My favorite song of his, though, is Young Americans...I should say favorite solo, because Under Pressure is one song I still turn up when it comes on the radio...even if I'm playing it on the radio myself.

Posted by: Grump928(C) pollutes you thread with football at January 11, 2016 11:36 PM (rwI+c)

293268 I'm an 80s kid, so Let's Dance, China Girl and Modern Love are my favorites (Let's Dance album came out in 1983). I discovered his earlier stuff after that, but those 3 songs stay with me the most.

Posted by: Dancing Queen at January 11, 2016 11:31 PM (aNrvT)

Probably my favorite Bowie music was his funky period in the late 70s.

297
On gun control, Obama needs a distraction and it's on the To Do List of the Left. But it's been a loser before and will be again in this cycle.

Had Al Gore not been tagged with Bill's Assault Weapon Ban he wouldn't have lost both West Virginia and his home state of Tennessee in 2000, either of which, had he won, would have made the Florida recount moot.

This cycle it will rule up the base in the ten or so Deep Blue states that already have strict gun control laws and be a loser everywhere else.

305
We had a wildfowl refuge near where I grew up, and for a limited time (and with a difficult to obtain permit) you could hunt geese during the fall migration.

Those geese knew where the boundaries were, knew where the shooting stations were, knew the range of a 12ga shotgun, and would do that stay high and then do that steep, circling descent like the military does into hot airstrips.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to go back and watch more of their stuff.

But not tonight. I'll have to get up earlier than usual tomorrow. I spent a full half hour this morning trying to get my frozen car door open. I sprayed a half a can of WD-40 on it (which has worked in the past) - it didn't work. I was pulling on the stupid door and it wasn't budging and then I asked this guy walking past for help. Bless him, he opened it - but he had to tug on it for a half minute or so and he was a big dude, so I know it wasn't just me being a wimp.
So I have to budget extra time in the morning until it's not so bitterly cold.

I assumed they were rude surfers, now in the age of Big Homo ....they didn't seem gay, who knows

Posted by: jake at January 11, 2016 11:28 PM (HLUeE)

IIRC, the reference was to a noteworthy practice of the Vietnamese 'boat people' who were flooding into the US at the time. They were used to more primitive "hole-in-the-ground" toilets [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKkryfdtMNQ ], but were ending up in supermarkets and office buildings where there were American-style raised toilets.

Not knowing what to do, and not having the time to ask, they would use these new devices as they had used their previous ones.....standing on the seat. Got the job done, and away they went. Problem is, a lot of those toilet seats weren't as steady as the concrete whatzit in the video and might shift a bit.

This created the phenomenon of "toilet-surfing" with the occasional "wipeout". From there to "butthole surfing" is a minor semantic shift.

Posted by: cthulhu at January 11, 2016 11:48 PM (EzgxV)

344
So I have to budget extra time in the morning until it's not so bitterly cold.
Posted by: Donna&&&&V
---------------

Coat the door seals with a *very* light coat of plumber's grease, or lard.

353
Fun fact about David Bowie... he was born David Jones, and he had to change his name early in his musical career because The Monkees were popular at the time, and one of their members was Davey Jones.

So, young David Jones decided to take the name Bowie, after James Bowie and his famous knife.

His son Christopher Zowie Bowie grew up to become an acclaimed artsy-fartsy independent filmmaker, and he took back the name Jones to become Christopher Jones.

364
rickl at January 11, 2016 11:49 PM (sdi6R)
The immigrants still do that. My friend used to work in a toothpaste plant and she told me the Asians left feet marks on the toilet and would put the used toilet paper on the ground. It was gross. They put up signs in Laotian or Vietnamese to stop doing it.

Posted by: CaliGirl at January 11, 2016 11:54 PM (egOGm)

365
@326 Mr. Hammer if Penn shows up he should be cuffed & led away. Yeah, I know wishful thinking

371364 rickl at January 11, 2016 11:49 PM (sdi6R)The immigrants still do that. My friend used to work in a toothpaste plant and she told me the Asians left feet marks on the toilet and would put the used toilet paper on the ground. It was gross. They put up signs in Laotian or Vietnamese to stop doing it.Posted by: CaliGirl at January 11, 2016 11:54 PM (egOGm)

It was worse in the late unlamented USSR, where even in nominally four-star hotels they had the hole in the ground, but ... let's say the Reds could have used a bombsight.

374
I'll tell you an anime I've really enjoyed watching recently... Noragami. It's about a small-time Shinto god looking to become a big-time god. He advertises his services through social media, and charges 5 yen (a standard shrine offering) as his fee. He works his ass off for that 5 yen, too!

He ends up befriending a nice girl who jumps in front of a bus to save his life and finds herself sort of stuck in a limbo state between life and death as a result.

Posted by: Grump928(C) pollutes you thread with football at January 12, 2016 12:05 AM (rwI+c)

388
"The immigrants still do that. My friend used to work in a toothpaste
plant and she told me the Asians left feet marks on the toilet and would
put the used toilet paper on the ground. It was gross. They put up
signs in Laotian or Vietnamese to stop doing it."

A friend in Silicon Valley sent me a smartphone snapshot of an onsite gym changing room at Cisco Systems, with a xeroxed message from Cisco security taped to the wall, reminding the H-1B coolie-coder employees to not drop deuces on the floor of the shower.

415300 for an insight into the kind of person bowie was, google "bowie's first fan letter" and read his response.imagine, a 20 year old rock star taking the time with this articulate letter.Posted by: musical jolly chimp at January 11, 2016 11:38 PM (WTSFk)

Yes I think that letter may have been featured on an ONT at some point.

It really is a very nice, personal letter that gives you a bit of insight into Bowie as a young man. And the typos and corrections show that Bowie typed it himself.

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/12/my-real-name-is-david-jones.html

Posted by: Maetenloch at January 12, 2016 12:13 AM (wqVD1)

416
Liked seeing that sportsmanship and attitude between Watson and Henry there after the game.

Posted by: Burn the Witch at January 12, 2016 12:14 AM (Wckf4)

417413 The highlight of Coker's life.Posted by: Grump928(C) pollutes you thread with football at January 12, 2016 12:13 AM (rwI+c)

Yep. An amazing high. Still, it must be weird to peak at age 21, and know the rest of your life will be downhill.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at January 12, 2016 12:14 AM (oKE6c)

418
Clemson surprised me. I admit that I don't have much respect for the ACC but this was THE Championship.

I'm as wrung out as a sponge.

Posted by: Grump928(C) pollutes you thread with football at January 12, 2016 12:14 AM (rwI+c)

a real life drill instructor that played a drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket
Posted by: jake at January 11, 2016 11:06 PM (HLUeE)

And a Gunnery Sergeant in Hamburger Hill, AND a helo pilot in Apocalypse Now

did a lot of movie consulting, too. Was brought in to FMJ to help add realism for the Boot Camp scenes. Decided he could to a better job and convinced Kubrick to give him the role after he swore like a DI for 15 full minutes without repeating himself. The actor originally slated for Hartmann ended up as the Door Gunner. You know - "If they run, they're Vc. If they stand still, they're a well-disciplined VC. What a bout women and children? "Easy, you don't lead 'em as much"

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at January 12, 2016 12:17 AM (E1IKf)

431
***"Well, so far 2016 has been absolutely sucky for music. First Natalie Cole, now Bowie.

Who's next I wonder?????

Posted by: qdpsteve at January 12, 2016 12:17 AM (ntObR) "***

Phrasing!

Posted by: Stevie Wonder at January 12, 2016 12:18 AM (Wckf4)

432
424
Clemson and Watson are the real deal. Probably see them back next year.

436
In Stanley Kubrick's filmmaking history, and of *all* the actors he worked with, he only allowed *two* of them to do any kind of improvisation with film rolling:

- Peter Sellers.
- R. Lee Ermey.

Posted by: qdpsteve at January 12, 2016 12:19 AM (ntObR)

437did a lot of movie consulting, too. Was brought in to FMJ to help
add realism for the Boot Camp scenes. Decided he could to a better job
and convinced Kubrick to give him the role after he swore like a DI for
15 full minutes without repeating himself.

I've read that onlookers were throwing oranges (IIRC) at Ermey when he was reciting his rant audtioning for the part - and he didn't bat an eyelash, or repeat himself.

442
And a Gunnery Sergeant in Hamburger Hill, AND a helo pilot in Apocalypse Now

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at January 12, 2016 12:17 AM (E1IKf)

Really? Totally missed that. Guess I'll have to rematch those parts.

Oh, he also took a shit out front on the lawn by the mailbox while reading a newspaper.

Posted by: RWC - Team BOHICA at January 12, 2016 12:21 AM (hlMPp)

443Yep. An amazing high. Still, it must be weird to peak at age 21, and know the rest of your life will be downhill.

Posted by: Jay Guevara

------------------

You learn to live with it.

Posted by: Lindsay Lohan at January 12, 2016 12:18 AM (gQfxF)

Let's hope Jack copes with it better than you.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at January 12, 2016 12:21 AM (oKE6c)

444
Well, (Clemson graduate, here), I didn't get my hopes up, didn't let myself get too emotionally involved, so it wouldn't be such a bummer if they lost. I was afraid they were going to choke. Make it to the big time, and just fall apart, but they held their own.

And not that I'm looking forward to Paul kicking off, but I'd like to see the movie "Let It Be" eventually. Supposedly McCartney won't let it ever be re-released in any format, because he's embarrassed at how it depicts him.

Posted by: qdpsteve at January 12, 2016 12:24 AM (ntObR)

456I saw some study once where the spread between "surprise" onside kicks and the other was huge, something like 75% to 10% success rate. (not actual numbers)

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at January 12, 2016 12:25 AM (ODxAs)

457
I'll say this. Spent a year in Alabama one time. Great state and people. Never saw a sister get humped.

473
Favorite Bowie song? Can't name one, but I'll name two. From his earlier years, 'Rebel, Rebel'. I also like 'Modern Love' from 1983.

I agree with the many above who said Bowie kept changing, being unique. That says a lot about a musician in this day and aqe of milquetoast musicians and formulaic music. I also agree that he wasn't preachy like so many airhead artistes (looking at you Bono, et.al.).

I also like "Ashes to Ashes" and "Fashion" a lot, both from the "Scary Monsters" album. Also, both IMHO were ahead of their time; recorded in 1979, but sound like they could have come out in 1985.

There's a brand new dance, but I don't know its name
The people from bad homes do again and again
It's big and it's bad, full of tension and fear
They're doing it over there, but they don't do it here...

And not that I'm looking forward to Paul kicking off, but I'd like
to see the movie "Let It Be" eventually. Supposedly McCartney won't let
it ever be re-released in any format, because he's embarrassed at how it
depicts him.

Posted by: qdpsteve at January 12, 2016 12:24 AM

You've not seen Let It Be????!!!

Posted by: otho at January 12, 2016 12:34 AM (EWg9n)

483
442 And a Gunnery Sergeant in Hamburger Hill, AND a helo pilot in Apocalypse Now

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at January 12, 2016 12:17 AM (E1IKf)

Really? Totally missed that. Guess I'll have to rematch those parts.

Oh, he also took a shit out front on the lawn by the mailbox while reading a newspaper.
Posted by: RWC - Team BOHICA at January 12, 2016 12:21 AM (hlMPp)

I'm sorry, it was The Boys in Company C, not Hamburger Hill. It get the two mixed up sometimes.

And not that I'm looking forward to Paul kicking off, but I'd like to see the movie "Let It Be" eventually. Supposedly McCartney won't let it ever be re-released in any format, because he's embarrassed at how it depicts him.

It's very common in Central America, even in high-class homes, to have both undersize waste pipes, compared to North American standards, and also septic tanks that cannot handle TP very well. So a basket, lined with a plastic bag, is provided for the used TP. Most new construction, and hotels/resorts catering to Norteamericanos, have adopted better plumbing, but it can be very expensive to retrofit an older home, with waste pipes in the concrete slab, with both larger waste pipes, and larger-capacity septic tanks.

I am in Nicaragua right now, and that is the norm here, but I also saw it in Costa Rica decades ago. Takes a little getting used to, but it doesn't have to be gross. Most of the Nicas I have met are pretty fastidious about personal cleanliness. And dress well, if they can afford to.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 12, 2016 12:37 AM (L2co/)

496I'll say this. Spent a year in Alabama one time. Great state and people. Never saw a sister get humped.

Just sayin'.
...
shot down in flames, eh?

Posted by: redc1c4 at January 12, 2016 12:25 AM (G1F7B)

Been to Alabama once, for a scientific conference at the University of Alabama.

And with that, I bid you all goodnight.
Posted by: Blano at January 12, 2016 12:35 AM (C3E0x)
***
Four years ago, I came within a hair's breadth of selling everything, buying a travel trailer, and taking a gig in the shale patch down here.

502
Just finished watching the first episode of "Dagashi Kashi". A son of a candymaker want to draw manga, but the heiress of a candy company wants his father to join her company... but he will only do so on the condition that the son agrees to inheret the candy store. Also, love triangles are being hinted at.

i'm tired of all the wonderful additions to our culture that the illegal immigrants bring us.

if you can't figure out basic human hygiene, how plumbing w*rks, and that things are different in different places, keep your ignorant third world ass home, and i'll stay my gringo ass here, so i don't pollute your glorious culture with silly notions of sanitation and disease prevention.

In a 20 mile radius there are approximately 6 frac sand processing plants. Lot of mining going on in 50 mile radius. There were dump trucks rolling 24/7. Trains travelling all throughout the night. It's all but rolled up & lights shut off.

511
502
Just finished watching the first episode of "Dagashi Kashi". A son of a
candymaker want to draw manga, but the heiress of a candy company wants
his father to join her company... but he will only do so on the
condition that the son agrees to inheret the candy store. Also, love
triangles are being hinted at.--------------

I watched that one myself earlier tonight. It's a bit thin, but the laughs come early and often, and one can learn many things about Japanese snack food. I understand the boy's desire to go to the city and become a mangaka. His home town hardly has room for a single horse.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 12, 2016 12:46 AM (ry4ab)

512
Congrats to Alabama, though I still am convinced that Stanford could have beaten them. Hopefully, there will be a sixteen team playoff soon. Four teams isn't enough, and I'm not convinced that eight is either, and a four round playoff system would be a lot of good college football to end the year.

Posted by: Sasquatch the Original trans-Wookie at January 12, 2016 12:47 AM (HsR2j)

Old, *bad* condition VHS copies of it are going for a king's ransom at Amazon, so I've seen.

Posted by: qdpsteve at January 12, 2016 12:35 AM

Hmmmm... never released on dvd? That's odd. I don't know why McCartney would get his knickers in a twist over the film, though there is the public perception that he's a martinet in it and he does seem precious about the subject. In the film, he's the one trying to hold it all together and get shit done while the others are fading away. The key moments are between McCartney and Harrison. Harrison is at least trying and working and McCartney has some *exchanges* with him over arrangements and whatnot. But, he's the only one that seems like McCartney could discuss stuff with, so it gets a bit testy. He has a bit of a rant at Lennon IIRC, but Lennon is barely listening. Lennon is mostly disinterested in the proceedings and Ringo obviously couldn't give a shit anymore and it shows.

And with that, I bid you all goodnight.------------------Saudis are trying to get us to like them again.

That and half of Ohio has no job or has one and is getting punished by taxes and cost of living, so no one drives anywhere if they can help it. It's the Obummer economic miracle, lowering the cost of gas by making sure everyone fills up three times a month.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 12, 2016 12:52 AM (ry4ab)

521
Yeah, Mississippi, Alabama bad roads bad life toothless no school Louisiana use you for gator bait. Texas is crazy just guns, red necks and death row.

Posted by: Silvester at January 12, 2016 12:53 AM (V+C3K)

522
I always liked Harrison the best. I've seen ringo in concert never McCartney hear he puts on hell of a show & expensive.

Like Beatles music, some of the guys first solo works. Not so much after that.

526
Speaking of George Miller, finally watched Mad Max Fury Road, hadn't bothered because of all the negative comments I'd seen, and after watching it I can't help but wonder what flick those people watched, Fury Road is fantastic, easily the second best of the four and in no way the chick flick some people were saying it was and Hardy is a great Max.

NorCal sees horrific bouts of violence between groups of Mexican illegals who originated in different parts of MX. Most of this never makes the news. Bodies just disappear. Cops find parking lots full of huge puddles of human blood at four in the morning.

530
otho, interesting. But yeah, I've read that around 2010 McCartney wanted to have it released on blu-ray... then he watched it again, and suddenly completely changed his mind and nixed the whole thing.

I know the supposedly (in)famous scene in Let It Be, besides the January 1969 Apple rooftop concert, is McCartney saying to Harrison words to the effect of "let me show you how to play this thing..."

I don't think there are many Nicaraguans or Costa Ricans amongst the flood of illegals entering the USA, are there? Nicas going to Costa Rica to work as unskilled labor has been a thing since the 1980's at least. Aren't the worst dregs coming into the USA the MS13 crowd from El Salvador?

Saw a billboard today in Managua advertising Winchester arms in a gun shop on the Masaya highway. And there was a murder nearby today or yesterday. Some guy got beaten to death and thrown in a ditch near Diriomo, which is about 20 km from me as the buzzard flies, and about 40 km by road. Right on the Pan-American Highway it is. TV showed his beaten corpse in living color, too; nothing pixellated. Commentary said it was probably drug-related; gang-banger vendetta. I feel pretty safe where I am; it's not "on the way" from Point A to Point B, so no transients, and enough miles of bad road to discourage casual snoopers.

And Central Americans despise Mexicans.
Posted by: The Central Hat at January 12, 2016 12:47 AM (vBeA5)
***
It's funny - people think the native Redneck (i.e., Anglo-Saxon/German) population here are racists. But they're not. There's been a blending here in Texas, in the best cases, of cultures and peoples and families with the Mexicans and the Nortenos and them. As such, we "anglos" end up adopting the prejudices of our neighbors and friend and relatives - I've no doubt my two daughters and sons - half Polish Jew from yours truly, half Louisiana gator-bait from their mother - will end up marrying people with quite a few doubled consonants and an unhealthy profusion of vowels in their family names. But this is Texas, this is how it works. This is how we end up with families named "Friesenhahn" with first names like "Eduardo" and "Maria."

Everybody, but everybody, hates the folks from Central America. A lot of it is the whole self-hating Mestizo thing, I'm sure.... But still, there's a difference.

Remember that "surge" of "unaccompanied minors" here in Texas? Yeah, still going on. And almost all of them are just about the most worthless lot we've seen yet.

in fact, when i enter a restaurant, i go check out the latrine before i ask for a seat...

if there are shit catchers in the stalls, i leave, no matter how great their reputation.

if the hired help can't follow basic sanitary hygiene, or management won't enforce it, i figure their food handling is just as shoddy, not to mention they likely don't wash their hands, or anything else.

Hep A, Hep C, worms, food poisoning, ulcerative colitis, etc....

yeah, i'll pass

Posted by: redc1c4 at January 12, 2016 01:01 AM (G1F7B)

538
"It's the Obummer economic miracle, lowering the cost of gas by making sure everyone fills up three times a month."

A couple of days ago I noted that the price of oil originally started falling because of oversupply, and that's okay, but what's scary is that now it's falling further because of slack demand.

And that's not okay, because a degree of oil use is implicitly built into just about everything that's bought or sold. So when oil demand slumps, that's a great big flashing red recession warning indicator.

Posted by: torquewrench at January 12, 2016 01:02 AM (noWW6)

539
So, there was a standoff situation on the block behind me last night.
In fact, I believe the cops set up command in the house directly behind me.
I never knew a thing until today.

Accounts differ on the ending, but dude ended up shot at least once in the leg, and a K9 dog is dead. Turns out, the guy is the Sig Sauer specialist at a local gun shop.

542otho, interesting. But yeah, I've read that around 2010 McCartney wanted
to have it released on blu-ray... then he watched it again, and
suddenly completely changed his mind and nixed the whole thing.

I know the supposedly (in)famous scene in Let It Be, besides the
January 1969 Apple rooftop concert, is McCartney saying to Harrison
words to the effect of "let me show you how to play this thing..."

Posted by: qdpsteve at January 12, 2016 12:57 AM

Yeah, I suspect that he's being overly self concious and precious about what people think of him. I think he comes off pretty good in the film, really... knowing the process. SOMEBODY has to make sure shit gets done. You can't all be like... "Meh, whatever" and pick your noses. Also, the stuff McCartney was advising Harrison about was not fundamentally different to what they'd always done, when arranging their own songs. It's just that it was caught on camera for the first time and looks terribly awkward.

There is one spot on the highway between Whitehall and Twin Bridges, Montana, where you are in three counties in under a mile. Road crosses the point of a wedge, I guess. Silver Star county gets about a quarter-miles of highway. You can see the one country sign from the other.

555
552 The illegals from El Salvador are still coming here.
Posted by: CaliGirl at January 12, 2016 01:11 AM (egOGm)
***
you have my condolences and sympathy. Austin had a near-riot when the Salvadorenos started getting pushy at the Home Depot.

556526 Speaking of George Miller, finally watched Mad Max Fury Road, hadn't bothered because of all the negative comments I'd seen, and after watching it I can't help but wonder what flick those people watched, Fury Road is fantastic, easily the second best of the four and in no way the chick flick some people were saying it was and Hardy is a great Max.

Posted by: All Teh Meh at January 12, 2016 12:56 AM (wEq+O)

Yeah I was wondering the same thing when it came out. You had all these pre-release rants about it being all "GIRL POWER!" and Mad Max is just a secondary character. But then I'm seeing people here that actually went and saw it saying that it was really good.

Its to the point that those that bitch and moan about some "GIRL POWER!" in a movie where some chick is able to beat up men is far more annoying to me than it being in the movie itself.

Posted by: buzzion at January 12, 2016 01:14 AM (zt+N6)

557
554 Palpatine, what part of Texas are you in?
Posted by: Steck at January 12, 2016 01:12 AM (ht/89)
***
Was in Seguin - don't judge me. It was a nasty divorce......

558
R. Lee Ermey played the dad of a girl raped and killed by 'Poncelot' (Sean fucking Penn) in 'Dead Man Walking'. In the movie, he had no love for Sr. Helen Prejean (Susan fucking Sarandon).

When I saw that movie in the theaters, at the end I was clapping and rooting out loud for the execution drugs. I don't think the Manhattan crowd was too pleased as that was the 'serious' moment of the movie, full of the poignancy of 'Poncelot's' remorse. All I got out of that movie is that death row inmates lie right up until they're in the hot seat or on the gurney, and sometimes, not even then. I also thought the Christ-like crucifixion on the tilted gurney was way over the top, and totally a Hollywood 'lethal injection' to tug at one's heartstrings, which failed in my case (gurneys are not tilted up for those last words).

559
You didn't hear the gunshots?
Posted by: SMFH
----------------
Not a thing. Of course this played out a good 1000 feet from me.
I even hear the occasional gunshots in the distance, but nothing last night. Would've been about this time of morning, too, I think.

Posted by: Chi at January 12, 2016 01:17 AM (gQfxF)

560
Bowie responsible for such greatness, but one of my fondest is his cameo in Yellowbeard.

565
One thing out of El Salvador that definitely needs more promotion is a food item: a pastry called a "pupusa" that is sort of like a cross between a crepe and a calzone, stuffed with meat, or more commonly, cheese. Very tasty, and not messy to eat. There are a number of vendors here in Nicaragua who make and sell them. Yummy!

Nicas do love their beef, and there are many good restaurants that serve steaks and filets that are fine.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 12, 2016 01:22 AM (L2co/)

566
Packing to change locations and I can't find my malaria tablets. Probably inside a dirty sock but I'm tempted to get a little worried.

567
553
As for Third-Worlder-ism...the future Empress was a child when she left Vietnam....

she remembers "pig privies." Look it up sometime if you're not
planning to eat for a while, and are curious why Asia accounts for such
nasty strains of influenza.

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at January 12, 2016 01:11 AM (lutOX)
553
As for Third-Worlder-ism...the future Empress was a child when she left Vietnam....

she remembers "pig privies." Look it up sometime if you're not
planning to eat for a while, and are curious why Asia accounts for such
nasty strains of influenza.

I suspect this is something like a friend of an ex experienced doing missionary work. Staying at a place, being called to dinner, hitting the bathroom first and being mildly amused by the fish chasing his poop in the running water of the latrine.....then coming in and being served a grilled example of the same species of fish.....

Posted by: cthulhu at January 12, 2016 01:24 AM (EzgxV)

568
Never go to Hawaii.
The $4 a gallon gasoline, the $11 per gallon milk, the sunburns, the hobos.
It's all bad, just stay home.

Posted by: navybrat at January 12, 2016 01:25 AM (8QGte)

569
Packing to change locations and I can't find my
malaria tablets. Probably inside a dirty sock but I'm tempted to get a
little worried.

I've never been to Nicaragua, but I've been to Honduras. Interesting area. Nice people. Government isn't worth a bucket of runny shit....like most places.

Are you staying near anything interesting? Will you have any free time to check it out?

Posted by: cthulhu at January 12, 2016 01:34 AM (EzgxV)

575
About Southern California being basically walled off and colonized... by space aliens no one can see.

Posted by: qdpsteve at January 12, 2016 01:30 AM (ntObR)

BFD, it's already full of aliens that Democrats can't see.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 12, 2016 01:35 AM (L2co/)

576
Question for the techie types - I have two co-axial cable outlets in my house and want to have somebody snake the cable into a few more rooms so I can move the router to a different room and install a tv in another bedroom. Should I upgrade to something better than co-axial? What are the cool kids doing these days?

Posted by: biancaneve at January 12, 2016 01:36 AM (e98eb)

577
I have felt like Mad Max should be a Moron(tm) favorite, and said so a few times here. It's my favorite movie of 2015, and much better than holiday tent poles like Spectre or Star Wars. The feminism and lack of Bradley Cooper felt like a distraction.

The category of things George Lucas did better than JJ Abrams is tiny. But the sense of wildness and maximum exotic weirdness was a button he pushed pretty well. I used John Carter as an example of that, but that is an unpopular movie.

579
576
Question for the techie types - I have two co-axial cable outlets in my
house and want to have somebody snake the cable into a few more rooms so
I can move the router to a different room and install a tv in another
bedroom. Should I upgrade to something better than co-axial? What are
the cool kids doing these days?

Chulhu's got a point here. CAT5 is the current industry standard, but CAT6 will ensure that you're ahead of the curve as technology keeps improving. It's a bit more expensive, but if you're going to stay where you are for a while, I'd go with it.

Posted by: Cato the Rebel Without a Party at January 12, 2016 01:41 AM (J+mig)

581
I find it exceedingly strange that the "bionic penis" story was placed right before the fold, instead of leading the thread. Its not like burning your own terrorists to death is very important, or any of that political crap, but a guy getting to use his shiny new penis for the first time ... now that's news, boys!

Posted by: goon at January 12, 2016 01:44 AM (gy5kE)

582
Thanks, Cthulhu and Cato - I'll look into upgrading the cable. Depending on cost I may stick with what I have, but I'm glad to know what's coming next. I've always wondered what's the point of having fiber-optic up to my house, then the same-old same-old in my walls.

584
I've never been to Nicaragua, but I've been to
Honduras. Interesting area. Nice people. Government isn't worth a bucket
of runny shit....like most places.

Are you staying near anything interesting? Will you have any free time to check it out?

Posted by: cthulhu at January 12, 2016 01:34 AM (EzgxV)

The lake that I am on, Laguna de Apoyo, is a volcanic crater lake, and most of it is an ecological preserve. The few private properties, like this one, and grandfathered. It is a tourism destination site. Within an hour or two by road: Volcan Masaya National Park, where you can peer into a smoking crater; Granada, the old colonial capital, dating to the 1500's; the Isletas de Granada, where an old lava flow ran into the big lake, and explosively broke up into blocks, creating hundreds of small islands, all covered by forest, and most now with (expensive) homes on them; Pacific coast beaches, and Chocoyero (sp?) which is a cliff in a lava flow, full of holes, occupied by thousands of green parakeets, which return every day at sundown. Much squawking ensues. Quite something to see. And hear! A famous surfing beach, Playa Gigantes, is about 2-3 hours distant.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 12, 2016 01:51 AM (L2co/)

585Hat, that reminds me, there's going to be a new series on USA network called "Colony." Made by the same producers/writers that did "Lost."

About Southern California being basically walled off and colonized... by space aliens no one can see.

Posted by: qdpsteve at January 12, 2016 01:30 AM (ntObR)

I'll check it out. But woe to the alien that has to deal with modern L.A.

587
582
Thanks, Cthulhu and Cato - I'll look into upgrading the cable.
Depending on cost I may stick with what I have, but I'm glad to know
what's coming next. I've always wondered what's the point of having
fiber-optic up to my house, then the same-old same-old in my walls.

Posted by: biancaneve at January 12, 2016 01:46 AM (e98eb)

Gigabit ethernet will run on CAT5, CAT5e, CAT6, and CAT7 (which I've never seen). I had CAT5 run throughout our house when we bought it 1997, and it's still chuggin' away.

Posted by: cthulhu at January 12, 2016 02:02 AM (EzgxV)

588
For anyone that may have enjoyed reading the SNOBOL story (I sure did!), here's one (nice and short) that you'll like, I think.

It is : The Absolutely True Story of a Real Programmer Who Never Learned C

http://tinyurl.com/hymrn29

Posted by: goon at January 12, 2016 02:04 AM (gy5kE)

589
I grew up with Bowie and always played his music around the house, my daughter was heavily into 70s music (The Stones, The Who, Bowie) when her friends were into Britney Spears, and my son knows him from Labyrinth and from my forcing him to watch the Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth duet with Bing Crosby every Christmas. We were all shocked and saddened this a.m. He was an amazing individual and performer and 69 is still too young.

Posted by: Gem at January 12, 2016 02:09 AM (c+gwp)

590
Oh, before I forget again, I know a few Morons are Night Flight fans, and if you have a Roku there's now a Night Flight channel, nite all https://channelstore.roku.com/details/76854/night-flight

Posted by: All Teh Meh at January 12, 2016 02:12 AM (wEq+O)

591
Written FORTRAN, PL/I, C, C++, flavors of Pascal, Java, Javascript, OS command languages from IBM CMS and DEC RSTS and RT11 to Powershell, HTML this and that, Python, PHP, flavors of BASIC, flavors of SQL, various assembly from CDC 6600 on, a bit of C#, diddled in other recent stuff...

Are you staying near anything interesting? Will you have any free time to check it out?

Posted by: cthulhu at January 12, 2016 01:34 AM (EzgxV)

The
lake that I am on, Laguna de Apoyo, is a volcanic crater lake, and most
of it is an ecological preserve. The few private properties, like this
one, and grandfathered. It is a tourism destination site. Within an hour
or two by road: Volcan Masaya National Park, where you can peer into a
smoking crater; Granada, the old colonial capital, dating to the 1500's;
the Isletas de Granada, where an old lava flow ran into the big lake,
and explosively broke up into blocks, creating hundreds of small
islands, all covered by forest, and most now with (expensive) homes on
them; Pacific coast beaches, and Chocoyero (sp?) which is a cliff in a
lava flow, full of holes, occupied by thousands of green parakeets,
which return every day at sundown. Much squawking ensues. Quite
something to see. And hear! A famous surfing beach, Playa Gigantes, is
about 2-3 hours distant.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 12, 2016 01:51 AM (L2co/)

I think I've actually seen a presentation about Laguna de Apoyo.....and, IIRC, two other lakes nearby, as having a great number of endemic (found nowhere else) cichlid species -- mainly in the genus Amphilophus.

[Looking a bit further, this would make sense, as one of the endemic species -- Amphilophus zaliosus -- was described and named by George Barlow, an ichthyologist associated with my local fish club.]

[Looking further, the other lakes may have been Masaya and Jiloa, with Nicaragua used as a baseline.]

Posted by: cthulhu at January 12, 2016 02:17 AM (EzgxV)

593
>> but a guy getting to use his shiny new penis for the first
>> time ... now that's news, boys!

It sure as hell is to the guy who's got it.

Posted by: JEM at January 12, 2016 02:20 AM (o+SC1)

594
"The Democrats have died on the gun control hill a couple of times already. I understand demagoguing an issue, but don't politicians generally try to demagogue issues that are popular? "
Democrats have mastered incrementalism. They are content to move the needle an inch and in ten years see it move a mile.
Republicans don't understand or employ incrementalism. And they will excoriate anyone in their midst (Cruz) who doesn't practice laisse fairre.

I'm really surprised at how hard Bowie's death hit me. I mean, he's had tons of great songs and I have and enjoy many of his albums (The Berlin Trilogy being my favorites) but celebrity deaths usually don't affect me like this. I wasn't a mega-fan or anything.

But very nice to see the tributes here. And our "local Rush Limbaugh" conservative radio talk-show host did a great show on Bowie yesterday.

But commenters on some righty sites (Breitbart, Gateway Pundit) just disgusted the hell out of me, pissing away on his grave. Some vile, horrible stuff was being posted. For all our vaunted Moron-ishness, AoS has more class than that, and that's a nice thing.

I've always known that he was a hero to a lot of "outsider" kids in the 70s and I've read some touching tributes on the 'nets. Seems he kept more than a few kids from the noose. There's a terrific scene in the movie The Runaways where soon-to-be Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie, a misfit outsider, screws up her courage and dresses up like Bowie to sing "Lady Grinning Soul" at her high school talent show. I think that scene hit pretty close to home for a lot of people.

He was one of a kind all right. Listening to LOW right now. The instrumental "A New Career in a New Town." He didn't even have to sing to be cool.

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But really, do men "lose their virginity"? Men aren't virgins. And what stage does it have to be to actually "cease to be a virgin", no don't answer that, I'm just pointing to the absurdity. This is just one of those modern equality absurdities.

There's sex and there's when your partner gets pregnant. Those are the two stages. Bill Clinton said so (just kidding).

Posted by: bruce at January 12, 2016 05:54 AM (E7GGp)

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Just saying: I know a lady who got pregnant from very enthusiastic non-penetrative sex. So was that a virgin birth for the guy too?

I think it was the Nirvana cover where Bowie said he couldn't believe Nirvana was playing him, like he was incredibly flattered. That's a good dude, who looks at rockers 20 or 30 years behind his astronomical success and says "They're really talented and it's an honor that they'd credit me with influence."

Fav song? Off the top of my head, on the downside I'll say Life on Mars?, on the upside Modern Love, and for the wildcard TVC15.